Lithuanian court overturns 10-year entry ban for Russian rapper Morgenshtern

A Lithuanian administrative court has overturned a 10-year entry ban imposed on Russian rapper Ališeras Morgenshternas by the Migration Department, state news agency BNS reported on Tuesday.

The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (LVAT) ruled in favour of Morgenshternas’ appeal, annulling both the Migration Department’s decision and a lower court’s upholding of the ban. The court also awarded the rapper nearly €34 in legal costs.

Judges determined that the Migration Department had improperly relied on information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—rather than the State Security Department—as the primary basis for assessing a threat to national security. The court found the original decision “based on data from an incompetent institution,” as the State Security Department had not provided any conclusions in the case.

The ruling further stated that the cited grounds—including Morgenshternas’ inclusion on other countries’ lists, public statements, and creative work—did not inherently prove a threat to Lithuania’s national security. The court noted that foreign states’ decisions lacked transparent reasoning and could not be automatically applied to Lithuania’s context.

Criticising the “one-sided” evaluation, judges found that only unfavourable information about the rapper had been considered, while potentially exculpatory evidence was ignored. The court emphasised that a 10-year entry ban—a severe measure—required clear and sufficient justification, which the case lacked.

Morgenshternas, who initially supported Russian President Vladimir Putin but later condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine in his music, was declared a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities in May 2022. His planned 2023 concert in Vilnius had drawn opposition from Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, who urged institutions to block his entry.